At Mr. Lister's plantation, Char turned to look at Professor Sprout.
"Aunt, I still need to plant three more acres of cotton," he said. "That's going to take quite a while. It's too hot and stuffy here, and you must have other things to do. Why don't you go take care of your own matters and come back for me tomorrow? Or just give me the address, and I'll go on my own."
Professor Sprout, however, gave him a warm, affectionate look and shook her head gently.
"That won't do, Char. I can't let you out of my sight again," she said kindly. "Don't worry. School hasn't started yet. I have plenty of time. Besides, I'm a master of Herbology. You have no idea how demanding some magical herbs can be. This little bit of heat and stuffiness? It's nothing to me."
Char nodded and didn't push the matter any further. He turned, intending to fetch the tools needed for digging and tilling. But just then, Professor Sprout smiled and stopped him.
"Char," she said, "even though you haven't officially started school yet, you already have your own wand. You should start practicing casting spells. It's much more efficient than using Muggle tools."
With that, Professor Sprout drew her wand. She pointed it toward the soil, the tip just grazing the surface. She moved the wand in a slow outward spiral from the center, then gave her wrist a slight flick.
"Terra—Laxus!" she incanted. "Earth Loosening!"
She smiled as a soft yellowish-brown glow burst from the tip of her wand, sinking into the ground. Instantly, the soil began to shift. It turned over on its own, clumps of hard dirt loosening into a soft, rich texture. Stones were pushed up to the surface, clearing the way. In just seconds, the ground looked like the perfect, fluffy soil Char had always dreamed of.
If he had done this manually—even with his skill and experience—it would have taken him a lot of effort and time. But with a single spell, it was done.
"This is magic?" Char breathed in awe. "It's incredible. Truly incredible."
Professor Sprout smiled proudly. Though she was modest by nature and didn't enjoy showing off, standing before Char—her only blood relative—she couldn't help but feel a surge of pride.
Char, ever sincere, praised her enthusiastically. "Aunt, you're way better than a tractor. Tractors need fuel. You just need food! If you were around, we could probably manage all the farms in London!"
Professor Sprout chuckled. She didn't know whether to laugh or sigh at Char's obsession with planting vast areas. But she gave him an encouraging nod.
"Char," she said, "this soil-loosening spell is quite simple. Would you like to give it a try?"
Char eagerly nodded and mimicked her previous movements. Holding his ash wood wand firmly, he pointed at the soil.
"Terra—Laxus!"
Yellowish-brown light shot out from the tip of his wand, and Professor Sprout's eyes lit up with joy. Though the spell was relatively simple, for someone casting with a wand for the first time, Char's performance was excellent.
However, her excitement dimmed slightly as she watched the results.
While Char's spell did loosen the soil a little, it only affected the topmost layer. It was far weaker than her own earlier casting. Professor Sprout sighed inwardly. His movements and incantation had been flawless. The problem wasn't his technique.
It was his magical power.
Ollivander had been right—Char's magic power was significantly below average. This meant that all the spells he cast would naturally be weaker. More advanced magic would take him much longer to learn. Still, she quickly pushed those worries aside when she saw that Char wasn't discouraged in the slightest.
Noticing her gaze, Char smiled.
"My magic is a bit weaker than normal. So it makes sense that my spell is weaker," he said with a shrug. "But hey, it's still better than using a shovel, right?"
Then, without hesitation, he cast the spell again. And again. He quickly followed with a shovel, making use of the now-loosened earth to dig holes for cotton seedlings. Before long, one cotton seedling had been successfully planted.[Successfully planted cotton x1]
[Claimable reward: Extremely slight increase in heat resistance (incubating)]
[After maturity, reward upgrade: Slight increase in heat resistance, extremely slight increase in drought resistance]A small glowing sphere hovered over the seedling. Char's eyes sparkled with excitement. He realized that casting the soil-loosening charm had greatly improved his planting speed. Compared to using a shovel alone, his efficiency had at least tripled.
Even more interestingly, he noticed something about the glowing sphere over the new seedling—it was slightly larger than usual. Could it be that a better planting process improved the quality of the reward?
Although the difference seemed subtle, it opened up a new possibility in Char's mind. If each step in the planting process were performed perfectly, could the rewards multiply significantly? And if he applied this across multiple acres…
With that thought, Char became even more motivated. Tirelessly, he waved his wand and cast the charm over and over. While each individual spell wasn't powerful, the sheer number of times he cast it made up for it.
This was where the advantage of magic in the wizarding world truly shined. While casting spells required magical power, it didn't consume it like a fuel. In essence, Char had infinite mana. As long as his body held up, he could cast spells endlessly.
And Char's years of farming had granted him a physical endurance far beyond the average person. He didn't tire easily and worked nonstop.
Professor Sprout watched him in amazement. Even she couldn't cast at such a high frequency for so long. Char's stamina—did he really not have some kind of giant blood?
Eventually, the scheduled planting time was up. Char not only finished planting the planned three acres of cotton—he went on to complete an extra four acres. Professor Sprout, genuinely concerned about him overexerting himself, eventually insisted that he stop and rest. Char, though still bursting with energy and itching to keep going, reluctantly agreed.
Planting with magic—it was amazing.
Seeing how full of life he still was, Professor Sprout relaxed.
"Char," she said, "that's enough for today. Come back home with me to the Sprout family. Take a good rest for a couple of days. I also have a greenhouse at home—you'll get to see a lot of magical plants there."
Char's eyes lit up. The idea of seeing magical plants was far more enticing than planting a few more acres of cotton. Without hesitation, he agreed.
He quickly packed his belongings, including the three marguerites he had already planted. Then, under Professor Sprout's surprised gaze, he jogged across the fields he'd worked on, as if bidding them farewell.
Professor Sprout watched him fondly. "So passionate about plants," she murmured. "Even if he never becomes a powerful wizard, in Herbology, he already has extraordinary talent."
Unseen by her, Char had already opened his system interface and claimed all the rewards from the seven acres of cotton seedlings he had planted.
In a flash, countless glowing spheres of light surrounded him, and two prompts appeared:[Heat resistance increased from Epic to Legendary]
[Drought resistance increased from Diamond to Epic]Char stepped off the plantation with a satisfied smile and a confident stride.
With a wave of his sleeve, he left the Muggle world behind.
Life in the magical world… had finally begun.
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